More "Specific Consent" Gloss, On the New EU Privacy Directives Applicable To Mattersight's EU Business Model

Allow me to amplify one point I made about the above topic, in passing, most recently here.

I think the biggest stumbling block to a pan-EU rollout of Mattersight's Behavioral Analytics^TM offering is going to be getting a comprehensive, but also purposes-specific, consent from each customer interaction (needed for each interaction by phone, or by any electronic communication -- e-mail, SMS or text). The general consent that Mattersight is entitled to rely upon in the United States, Canada and Mexico is not going to be even remotely close to adequate under the new EU Privacy Directives. The law could change, but for now it requires that each consent must be specific for the different purposes that the voice, location and text data is collected, used or otherwise processed (e.g., profiling or behavioral targeting), i.e., it cannot be lawfully obtained through general terms and conditions check-boxes or consents. In addition, an opt-out mechanism does not constitute an adequate mechanism to obtain informed user consent under the EU law.


Moreover, if the purposes of the processing (by Mattersight) change in a material way, the data controller (i.e., the entity that determines the purposes and means of collecting, using or processing the data -- here, Mattersight) must seek renewed specific consent of the individual EU member state citizen, before proceeding with the new analysis/purpose. [Of course, should a citizen of any EU member state request, Mattersight has to stand ready to both "erase" and "forget" what it learned. Daunting.]

As a US citizen, I actually think this EU requirement is over the top, and I am helping clients address it everyday -- including seeking changes to the Directives' formal interps -- but for now, were I the GC of Mattersight, I'd be decidedly-nervous about my Behavioral Analytics' business model in Europe. Why? Because the fines for violations are clearly set at punishing levels. Levels that would wipe any net margin on the business off of Mattersight's books -- and eat into its cash-flow.

So, as ever, be careful out there.